Why Herbs Make Good Gifts

It used to be so easy to buy gifts for people, especially when they were up and coming and couldn’t afford all the goodies they desired. I would listen to them throughout the year and especially note in my head anything they looked at that they liked, but didn’t buy for some reason. Then I would surprise them with it. 

My game was to get that explosion of joy in that bright smile when their eyes first laid on their gift. If I saw that flicker of light in their eye, I knew I nailed it, but if I didn’t, no amount of “oh how nice” would convince me that they really liked it. I was prepared to take the gift back for myself and try again. I hate returning stuff, so I had a rule. If I didn't like it too, I didn’t buy it. But I rarely if ever had to take anything back.

Sometimes, or rather often, I couldn’t help getting a big present, but then adding little things to it as I went along. It was so much fun. It was like putting a care package together. To me, giving was always the funnest part of the Holidays or any other occasion.

I wish I would have known about the power of herbs back then. I could have added in adaptogens like a

 

Ashwagandha or Reishi or highly cleansing and nutritive herbs like our blend of 8 Mushrooms or Beet Root. Young people sometimes stress themselves out and turn to pharmaceuticals that then form a habit of how they live which insidiously drains the life out of them. But if they do the herb instead because they have it, they’ll learn a better way that won’t compromise their health to quell a symptom. This way they will stay young longer.

These days I never go out shopping with friends and the friends I do see, well, it’s gotten to the point where we all have enough stuff. But now there is a different reason to give herbs. Almost everybody now has some health challenge or complaint. If you just listen to people throughout the year, they tell you what they want for Christmas or their birthday.  But they may not know that it is possible to get what they desire. 

They may not know that herbs can make their body younger. Of course, in looks and function, no herb can rewind the clock. But what is the clock next to looks and function? That is your real age. 

You could get a pretty box or basket and put enough herbs in it to get a result and write a beautiful note with your best handwriting and stickers  and hearts and smileys and say this is a magic box/basket. Taken as directed it will give you more lifeforce to look younger and feel better. 

The positive suggestion that it will happen will make it happen, especially if you use enough aesthetics in your presentation. And the herbs are a nice reinforcement ha ha. You know, actually, if you look at the history of herbalism, that’s exactly how herbs were originally used. The thought at the time was that herbs were given to us by gods and the prayer was the power and the herb was the reinforcement that got it started. This was true throughout all of history from ancient times all the way up to the time of Hippocrates. Hippocrates turned everything toward science, so now we say the herb does it. But isn’t everything a consideration at the core of it? It’s all in how or what you think.

I bet you could figure out by listening what is the most bothersome issue with someone and you could put a magic gift together and present it as a done if they will accept it as directed. At the very least the “fairy pills” could be a lot of fun and they will think of you everyday when they take them. They could make a tea or sprinkle them all over their food if they don't like to swallow capsules. 

Oh that reminds me of my roommate! She doesn’t sprinkle herbs on her food because she doesn’t like capsules. She does it because she says it makes her food taste good. She says that if she gets garlic or basil from the store it is exposed to the air, but these herbs in the capsule are not and they seem fresher to her and have a stronger taste. Plus she says it's much easier to open a capsule than it is to peel a garlic clove! Ha ha!

If you know someone that is perfectly healthy with no health problems that’s great! But herbs are still a nice gift. You could give this person Ginseng. Ginseng gives you that special edge or advantage in performance. With Ginseng if you take it when you are not in good shape it can exhaust you. It is actually for people that are in great shape. It helps them use their health to their advantage.

If you have friends that are touched by symbolism you can find the herb that’s right for them symbolically. All herbs from their history have things they are symbols of. You can put a box together based on what is important to that person. I am going to list out some herbs and what they symbolize, but it is more for example. You can always use google or any search engine to find out what an herb symbolizes. And conversely you can find out what different herbs symbolize whatever idea you are looking for.

• Ashwagandha symbolizes strength and vitality

• Ginseng - longevity, prosperity, good health, friendship, gratitude and spiritual connection

• St John’s Wort - protection from evil spirits, healing, the sun

• Rhodiola - mental clarity and vitality, resilience, strength and endurance, love and a happy marriage

• Licorice - sweetness and healing in general. Buddhism, respect and appreciation. Health and restoration, especially oral health in Ayurveda

• Cayenne - heat and flavor

• Saffron -sacrifice, purity, spiritual enlightenment and courage.

All of the above are adaptogens, except the St John’s Wort. But St John has its own kind a magic and is one of those herbs to reach for first no matter what ails you. I don’t think you can really go wrong giving it to anyone, same for an adaptogen. Adaptogens create balance and tend to address whatever ails you too. They address your overall health. It doesn’t just handle one specific symptom. St Johns seems to quench free radicals like nothing I ever tried before.

Cayenne is great for first aid because it is a blood adaptogen and it stops bleeding, even internal bleeding and it promotes healthy circulation. When I was studying all this in the past I was taught about a family who called in their herbalist when a loved one had internal bleeding from a brain hemorrhage. The doctors in the hospital were about to cut his scalp open and remove some bone to try to get in there and stop the bleeding. This was all avoided. Working with the doctors, the herbalist got some cayenne into the bloodstream and the brain hemorrhage stopped. Nobody should underestimate the importance or power of cayenne. For healthy people cayenne can improve blood circulation and can make vessels temporarily expand.

Saffron is a great gift. You can use it in cooking as well as in a medicinal tea. Many times it is given to a new bride. It is a bit expensive because it it gotten from the anthers of a flower and one tin of saffron is like a whole field of flowers. So it is an expensive wedding gift, but useful. One strand can color a whole pot of rice yellow and make it an antioxidant. 

But if you give that, make sure you educate your friend or relative as to what it does and how to use it. Well that goes for anything you give them. But with saffron somehow get them to find out how much it costs if you don’t feel right about telling them right off.

I have a wonderful, beautiful tin of the most exquisite saffron in my kitchen and I got it from a friend. She had gotten it as a wedding present. She gave it to me when I was helping her to move. I took it because the tin was beautiful even though I had no idea about saffron. She didn’t either and she was kind of annoyed that someone gave her a spice for her wedding. I only knew that the Hispanics used it to color their rice. Then I did a blog on turmeric. Wow, turmeric was put on the map so to speak because it was a cheaper alternative to saffron. That tin if you were to buy it today would cost $300! Well I sure lucked out, I’d say! It makes the most wonderful tea. And saffron is an adaptogen!

Well I hope I have given you some ideas for this holiday season. Or for somebody’s birthday or other occasion. Oh one more thing. I know a lot of people that solve that whole I don't need anything problem with taking someone out to dinner and that’s OK. But it is not too lasting. You could also give a box with a jar of herbs inside it, wrapped nicely with a note from you saying why you think this herb is for them. 

I think it shows thought and caring especially if you wrap it nicely. And I think that we all know that regarding presents, it is the thought that counts. It is nice making people feel important and letting them know that you love them and taking care of their health too. What else are friends for?

Happy Holidays and Happy Gift Giving!